$4.2 billion funding win for ABC and SBS but streaming reforms disappoint

More money for public broadcasters is good, but a 5% local quota for streaming services fails to impress.
ABC logo on building, Melbourne.

The Federal Government yesterday announced a surprisingly generous $4.2 billion funding for the ABC and SBS over the three-year period from July 1 2022 to June 30 2025.

It’s an election year and the Coalition government is decidedly unpopular with the kinds of people most loyal to public broadcasting. So this big cash splash for the ABC and SBS could be called blatant electioneering, but nobody’s complaining. Not about that announcement anyway.

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Rochelle Siemienowicz is the ArtsHub Group's Education and Career Editor. She was previously a journalist for Screenhub and is a writer, film critic and cultural commentator with a PhD in Australian cinema. She was the co-host of Australia's longest-running film podcast 'Hell is for Hyphenates' and has written a memoir, Fallen, published by Affirm Press. Her second book, Double Happiness, a novel, will be published by Midnight Sun in 2024. Instagram: @Rochelle_Rochelle Twitter: @Milan2Pinsk